A Lesson to Forget
by Jinxybub
Summary: This is a 'The Last of Us' fic, It's just a short clip of a moment that Joel and Ellie got to share. They have finally gotten to the stage that they can start to fulfill the promises they made, and this is just a small but meaningful moment in that time.


**This is a 'The Last of Us' fic, It's just a short clip of a moment that Joel and Ellie got to share. This is the first time I've ever written FanFiction before but here it is.**

 **I do not own "The Last of Us" it is NaughtyDog's possession.**

"Okay." Joel sucked in air through his teeth as he touched his toe onto the surface of the lake. He was stood in an old pair of shorts Tommy had found, which he said he could use as swimming trunks. He quickly looked back at Ellie to see if she had heard his shock. She was stood with her arms folded, her eyebrow raised.

"You think I'm getting in there?" She asked, her voice already stating that she will, in fact, not be getting into the lake.

"Look, Ellie. It aint that cold." Joel said this for his own sake rather than Ellie's. He took a few steps back and leaped into the water. A few splashes hit Ellie and she jumped backwards. Joel surfaced with a gasp and shook his hair.

"See, its fine" Joel's teeth chattered a little, but he kept his composure. He wanted Ellie to actually get in the water.

Ellie watched as Joel swam a few strokes before he looked up at her.

"It aint too deep, maybe if you just come up to here." He pointed around himself "But don't go any farther." The lake wasn't huge, about the same size as a swimming pool they used to have at the gym back in Texas. Not that Joel used to use the gym very often, but he had swam at their pool a couple times.

Ellie stood with her arms now beside her, questioning the waters temperature and the will to take off her clothes. Not that she didn't have a swimming costume on underneath, which she did. Maria's friend had given one to her, which Maria then offered to Ellie since she wouldn't be needing it. But suddenly Ellie felt shy, and aware of her body in front of somebody, a stranger. She mentally shook her head. Joel was not a stranger. She knew Joel more than anybody else. Even Marlene. Even her own mother. Ellie sighed and tried to remember what Joel had said on the way down to the lake. _We can forget for a while._ She knew what he meant. What they were supposed to forget.

Ellie lowered her backpack to the ground, and unzipped her jacket. She was about to pull her shirt over her head when she saw Joel smiling at her.

"Um, Joel?" Ellie's voice was tainted with slight annoyance, but also defeat.

"Oh- uh…" Joel realised what Ellie meant and turned around, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh fuck!" Joel spun around, Ellie's arms were tightly fisted to her chest and she shook her leg. "That's fucking cold Joel!" Joel chuckled slightly but put on a straight face.

"Ellie."

"What is the point in this, why can't we wait till its warmer? I know its spring and it's kinda getting warmer but-"

" _Ellie."_ Joel interrupted her, now his arms were folded. Ellie sighed and slowly lowered her foot in. She let out a low squeal when her toe made contact with the water. Joel was used to the water by now and felt fine, after all, it really wasn't that cold after the first touch.

"Just jump in quickly like I did, you get used to it quicker that way." Joel watched as Ellie still slowly entered her leg. He sighed in exasperation.

"Ellie, don't make me come over there and pull you in myself."

"Okay! Okay." Ellie lowered herself down and dropped herself into the water. She let out a gasp and bounced on each foot. It was chest height on Ellie, whereas it was just hip height for Joel.

"It helps if you get your head wet too." Joel offered, but all he got in return was a scowl aimed at him.

"Alright, if I remember correctly, people usually have a floaty to help with keepin' them above the surface but… we don't have that. So, we can do it like my pops taught me." Joel waded over to Ellie, she was shivering but her lips weren't blue.

"Pops?" Ellie asked, her teeth chattered.

"My grandpa." Joel answered as he held her by the shoulders. "The key to keep warm is to keep on movin', cause if you just stand there like a lemon, you aint gonna get used to it." Ellie nodded in understanding, Joel turned her around and she slowly started to move forward, until the water was just touching her chin. She turned to face Joel.

"Alright, now from there try to doggy paddle on over here." Joel was waiting near the edge of the lake, holding out his palms for her to swim to him.

"How do I do that?" Ellie's lips stopped trembling, and a pink colour was starting to return to her cheeks.

"Just lie on your front and move your arms and legs through the water, it should just come natural." Joel did the motions of doggy paddling, if Ellie were watching from the side-lines she was sure she'd be laughing. But right now, stood neck deep in water, she was not in the least bit amused.

"I don't think I can." Her eyebrows were raised and for a second Joel remembered how she looked when they were in the abandoned ranch, and he told her that she weren't his daughter. He banished the memory from his mind and crossed the gap in between them.

"Alright, I'll keep you afloat. All's you have to do is do the arm and leg motions." Joel waited for Ellie to nod in response, he then held onto each side of Ellie's waist.

"Now, you go on and lift your legs." Ellie did as she was told, desperately trying to keep her head above the water.

"Just, relax. I got you." After a few seconds of flailing Ellie started to calm down, using Joel's support as comfort. "Try and claw at the water with your hands, so you're just tryin' to keep yourself afloat. You need to kick your legs up and down too." For the first part her legs were causing a tidal wave over Joel and he turned his head from the splashes.

"Ellie, try keep your feet under the water!" She realised what she was causing behind her.

"Oops, sorry" she lowered her feet so she was causing less havoc.

"I know I said try clawing the water, but close your fingers and it'll be kinda easier."

She did as she were told and in a few hours, besides the occasional spluttering and splashing, she got the hang of doggy paddling. Until Ellie said she was ready, Joel moved to the other side of the lake. She did a few laps to Joel and back to where she was comfortable with the lakes depth, and soon a smile crept onto her face.

"I did so good, right Joel? I think I could swim for miles, although it is quite far and pretty deep. Also it's pretty tiring and-"

"Ellie, we should get going now. The suns rising and we have duties back at Tommy's." Ellie's joy slowly deteriorated when Joel spoke. She slowly followed him out of the water, her head slightly held down. Joel glanced back and saw her expression, he instantly felt a wave of guilt. He was proud of her, and it warmed his heart that she still had childlike glee behind her matured eyes.

"You were pretty good, next time you can put your head under. Get used to the water a little more."

Ellie didn't know how she felt about that, but just hearing the small compliment Joel gave her made her ecstatic again. She dried herself with the towel Joel threw her way and put her dry clothes on over her wet costume. She felt uncomfortable, but it was only a short distance back to Tommy's.

Joel walked towards where the horse was tied to the tree by the reigns, Tommy had let them borrow her for a few hours, as long as they were back before daylight. Joel untied the horse and heaved himself up, he lent Ellie a hand and lifted her onto the back and gently tapped his heels into the horse's sides. After a few moments of riding, Ellie breaks the silence. "So… I sure would like to learn how to play guitar soon." Joel thought he detected a hinting tone in Ellie's statement.

"Yeah, I'll talk to Tommy. See about gettin' one."

"Right." Ellie went quiet for a few moments. "And it would be pretty great if we could sing around a campfire one day or something…" Joel knew what this conversation was leading to.

"Ellie, I ain't gonna sing for ya."

"Oh, _come on_. I saved your ass and this is all I'm asking of you!" Joel didn't answer, she sighed in playful annoyance. "You promised you would."

"No, I said I would teach you guitar. I didn't mention once that I would sing for ya." Joel was smiling slightly, and was glad Ellie couldn't see.

"Fine." Ellie rested her head on Joel's rucksack in defeat as they slowly headed towards Tommy's. "I'm pooped."

It was times like these that Joel really appreciated. How they could relax and not have to worry about infected or hunters. Although Joel was still wary of his surroundings from being outside the perimeter of Tommy's, he felt a small sense of freedom. They rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence. The sunrise turning into daylight warmed their backs, and Joel smiled at the warmth of Ellie's presence.


End file.
